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The term "Heatlock" is simply a marketing term. It's a thermal barrier design. It doesn't REALLY "lock heat in". Thermal barrier designs are fine when the pumps run alot (read as pumps running more often requires more electricity and therefore a higher cost than a full foam spa) but that is not necessarily a better design than a full foam spa (like the sundance). Here's something to consider in your environment... What happens when the power fails (for days on end)? The full foam WILL keep the water warmer longer (simply due to the physics as it has more insulation). The thermal barrier uses air to insulate and pump heat to augment that area. No pump operation, no heat augmentation and therefore only air is insulating. IMHO full foam is a better insulator. My vote is for the Sundance. And the person using that "Heatlock" term may also be using the "transferable warranty" term with equal liberty. Doesn't make it right, it simply makes it "what they said". Get warranty coverage IN WRITTING BEFORE you give them a deposit.
Also if you do have a freeze up where you can not get a service person out, you can put a small heat source in the cavity of the TP and close the door. This you can not do on a Full foam.
Its a simple question answer...
sorry for the bad post... kirbey had asked about cold weather and I live in winnipeg manitoba so we have cold weather. To answer the question of why you can't put a heater in a foam filled, i should have qualified my statement better... if you go to work at 8am, and power goes out at 9am... and you dont get home till 5pm.... and the power problem with the tub hasnt been fixed then the pump sitting out side at -30 for 8 hours will have froze and mostly cracked. So you might not have much water in the tub.Now to help kirbey...one tub is 7' the other is 8'one tub is at the max for jets, the other has the potential to be upgraded to 61 jets.one tub has a fully structured floor that can be placed on any level ground, I'm not sure for sundance what the base requirements are, but most other makes of tubs require a concrete pad.one tub has the ability to upgrade to new features that might come out.just somethings to think about, but the main thing is that which ever tub you buy make sure you sit in them either wet or dry to make sure the tub gives you the comfort you are looking for and the massage of the jets is where you want it.you never buy a pair of shoes without trying them on.
Its a simple question answer what will freeze first, a pump/motor sitting outside at -30 or a thermos with hot water in it? a pump outside with freeze in 3-4 hours. A thermos will take days to freeze. Also if you do have a freeze up where you can not get a service person out, you can put a small heat source in the cavity of the TP and close the door. This you can not do on a Full foam.
sorry for the bad post...
I have checked into it and they do transfer the warranty. Thanks.
Here's the Arctic warranty:http://www.arcticspas.com/index.php/en/show_content/37/37/&show_warranty=29Notice that the Lifetime shell warranty applies to "the customer", but the other parts of the tub specifically say they apply to "the original owner."Perhaps- and this would just be my guess- the shell warranty can be transferred, but the mechanicals are warranted for the original owner only. In that sense, they can claim that the warranty is transferable. That sounds just "lawyerese" enough to make sense.I've heard the "7.5 years = lifetime" warranty thing before- I have no idea whether it's true or not, but it's not applicable in this case. No part of the Sundance warranty has a "lifetime", all parts of the warranty are for a specific number of years.This is not to knock Arctic at all - it just sounds like a lot of the "features" you mentioned might be marketing tools that the Arctic salespeople pointed out to you, and not necessarily useful ways to compare these two spas.IMHO, I'd wet test, and buy the one that feels the best to you. There's no reason to compare warranties if you end up buying a tub you don't like very much. After that, though, both Arctic and Sundance are reputable brands - all things being equal I'd buy the one that's brand new and comes with a warranty that covers the whole tub.